Hidden Coves

Small enclosed bays where the enclosure is the point. Rock on both sides, a short arc of sand or pebble between, and water that is calm because the shape of the land makes it so. Many are famous and crowded, which does not stop them being coves. Size is the recurring problem rather than the appeal. Several of the best-known coves here measure under a hundred metres and receive numbers that a beach that size cannot absorb, which has led municipalities to close access roads, run shuttles, or in one case remove a beach from their own tourism promotion. The register notes access restrictions and crowding honestly on these records, including where a municipality has asked visitors to go elsewhere. Early morning and the shoulder seasons are the honest advice for almost every beach in this world.